Planning board backs Johnson Field Airport change

People enjoy the WNC Air Museum Open House Friday during the Apple Festival a few years ago. On Monday night, the Hendersonville Planning board supported a request to remove Johnson Airport, which is home to the WNC Air Museum, and 17 neighboring properties from the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Published: Monday, March 10, 2014 at 9:52 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, March 10, 2014 at 9:52 p.m.

The Hendersonville Planning Board is backing a request to remove Johnson Field Airport, home of the WNC Air Museum, and 17 neighboring properties from the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction.

During a meeting Monday, the board voted unanimously to recommend that City Council approve a request from Ken Stubbs to remove about 40 acres from the city's ETJ. Stubbs made the request at the council's meeting Feb. 6, and the council voted to send the proposal to the planning board for review.

City Planning Director Sue Anderson said the area "was included in the establishment of Hendersonville's ETJ in the mid-1960s. In June 1999, the ETJ boundary was adjusted in this area so that all of (the adjoining) Hendersonville Airport would be located within Henderson County's jurisdiction. At that time, about 12 percent of the (Johnson Field) airport property was located within Hendersonville's ETJ."

In a letter to the city, Stubbs said the Johnson Field airport and neighboring property owners find it difficult to navigate the zoning rules that apply in different areas when an owner wants to improve property or conduct aviation-related activities.

"The reason I moved to Hendersonville was to be able to operate an airplane out of my backyard," said Shawn McCallister of West Gilbert Street. "I'm in the process of surveying and getting a plan done to build a hangar, which I understand ... is very confusing because I'm in the ETJ. I live in the county, but I'm in the ETJ, so there's two sets of building codes I have to look at."

He said the runway for Johnson Field is included in the city's 100-year flood zone.

"To build a hangar there, I have to bring in fill dirt and get it up high enough so that it's out of that 100-year (flood zone)," he said. "In the city, the ETJ, that building code goes back to the FEMA flood insurance. The way I understand it is even after I bring in the fill dirt and fill up, build high enough to get out of the flood zone, FEMA still considers it a flood zone so it doesn't matter how much dirt you bring in, you're still in the flood zone, which will make the insurance very expensive."

McCallister is also seeking removal from the city's ETJ in hopes that new zoning through the county will allow him to operate a business on his land in his retirement. Like his neighbors, McCallister's land is zoned in the city for residential.

"I feel like it would make my property more valuable if it was not in a residential zone," he said.

Zoning Administrator Susan Frady said the city and county use the same set of building codes and flood-zone maps. She told McCallister that he would still have to elevate his building.

"We contract with Henderson County to do our building inspections, so whether you are in the city or the county, you would use the same inspections department," she said. "None of that's going to change, except you'll go to the county to get your permits instead of to the city."

Over the past several years, she said, property owners were allowed to build hangars as long as they were reserved for private use only. Other hangars, however, were constructed before that stipulation was put into writing.

Stubbs said he has an airplane hangar and taxiway access to Johnson Field in his backyard.

"There's two airports in Hendersonville. A lot of people don't realize that, but there is a Johnson Field Airport and there's the main (Hendersonville) Airport," he said.

"The city has certain requirements that don't make it the easiest to build a building; for instance, height. The tail on an airplane is 15 feet. The city says an out-structure away from a home can't be but so high and it's got to be in the front yard or the backyard, but that's not all really what we're looking at," he said. "We're trying to say that the people ... that were there say before the ETJ was in place, they had a home. They had a hangar. They were able to use it. The rules were the same for a person on one end of the runway as it was for the other end of the runway.

"All we're looking for is to have the property put into the county, where all of the property that adjoins the main Hendersonville Airport, which is county property, all of the property out there around it would be in the county."

He said zoning violations can occur if someone rents an airplane hangar to someone else, transacting business in a residential zone.

"At the museum, are there any sales going for souvenirs and this type of thing?" Dutcher asked.

"Yes," Stubbs answered.

Is that a violation? Dutcher asked.

"If it's in the ETJ, it could be. The museum has been very well accepted by the community, the state and everybody in the area and we haven't had anything come up like that. We do occasionally do rides to benefit the museum and things like that. Well, in the county it's less restrictive," Stubbs said. "We all like Hendersonville, don't get me wrong, and we all like Henderson County."

The museum has been permitted with the city since the early '90s when property owners were granted a conditional-use permit.

"We not only want to see ... Johnson Field be successful, we want to see the Hendersonville Airport remain successful. We think it's vital to the community. In the summertime, you wouldn't believe the amount of traffic that comes into Hendersonville," Stubbs said.

The Hendersonville Airport is currently zoned as industrial in the county.

John Fadok, owner and operator of the neighboring Hendersonville Airport, said his concern really took flight when a plane flying out of Johnson Field crashed into one of his hangars last March.

The commercial operator has been "operating there for about the last two years in violation of the Hendersonville zoning," he said. "I've been looking the other way, but this is actually his third accident in the last two years."

Fadok said he "realized this is not a good operation or a safe operation. Zoning was there and this is their, I believe, their method in order to try and frustrate that, quite frankly. ... This ETJ removal was taken right after that accident happened and right after I notified the zoning people about it."

He suggested the board recommend removing Johnson Field and the museum from the ETJ "because then it would make it contiguous with the county zoning and it would be appropriate," he said. But he added that he didn't think it would be appropriate to extend the same courtesy to the residential properties in the area, allowing neighbors to continue with commercial operations.

Jon Blatt, vice chair of the planning board, reminded the group that it was not in their domain to make any kind of ruling or to assess any type of zoning violation in the matter.

"Because the current ETJ boundary bisects some properties, staff suggested having the new boundary follow existing roadways, and that's just to simplify that boundary description," Anderson said.

She said that more than five other properties were added to the request to clean up the boundary line and avoid bisecting parcels.

In order to change the current ETJ boundary, City Council must hold a public hearing and adopt an ordinance amending the ETJ boundary. "Once this is complete, Henderson County will need to apply zoning to the area that was formally within the ETJ boundary," Anderson said.

Stubbs said the county is currently considering adding an aviation classification to its zoning ordinance. The city currently has no such specific classification.

In other action, the board voted to recommend City Council deny a request from Peter Contrastano, Carol Dietrich and Ninth Avenue Ventures that asked for three parcels on Ninth Avenue West to be rezoned from medium-density residential to medical institutional cultural. The adjoining properties between North Justice Street and North Oak Street comprise three-quarters of an acre between Hendersonville Elementary and Hendersonville High schools.

No plan for a specific business was presented, although Contrastano said they were leaning toward developing the property as a live-work site with housing upstairs and a commercial property downstairs. A variety of commercial uses are permitted in medical institutional cultural zoning districts.

A neighbor told the board she was concerned about the future use of the land. Bill Farrell cast the sole "no" vote against the recommendation to deny the request.

<p>The Hendersonville Planning Board is backing a request to remove Johnson Field Airport, home of the WNC Air Museum, and 17 neighboring properties from the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction.</p><p>During a meeting Monday, the board voted unanimously to recommend that City Council approve a request from Ken Stubbs to remove about 40 acres from the city's ETJ. Stubbs made the request at the council's meeting Feb. 6, and the council voted to send the proposal to the planning board for review.</p><p>City Planning Director Sue Anderson said the area "was included in the establishment of Hendersonville's ETJ in the mid-1960s. In June 1999, the ETJ boundary was adjusted in this area so that all of (the adjoining) Hendersonville Airport would be located within Henderson County's jurisdiction. At that time, about 12 percent of the (Johnson Field) airport property was located within Hendersonville's ETJ."</p><p>In a letter to the city, Stubbs said the Johnson Field airport and neighboring property owners find it difficult to navigate the zoning rules that apply in different areas when an owner wants to improve property or conduct aviation-related activities.</p><p>"The reason I moved to Hendersonville was to be able to operate an airplane out of my backyard," said Shawn McCallister of West Gilbert Street. "I'm in the process of surveying and getting a plan done to build a hangar, which I understand ... is very confusing because I'm in the ETJ. I live in the county, but I'm in the ETJ, so there's two sets of building codes I have to look at."</p><p>He said the runway for Johnson Field is included in the city's 100-year flood zone.</p><p>"To build a hangar there, I have to bring in fill dirt and get it up high enough so that it's out of that 100-year (flood zone)," he said. "In the city, the ETJ, that building code goes back to the FEMA flood insurance. The way I understand it is even after I bring in the fill dirt and fill up, build high enough to get out of the flood zone, FEMA still considers it a flood zone so it doesn't matter how much dirt you bring in, you're still in the flood zone, which will make the insurance very expensive."</p><p>McCallister is also seeking removal from the city's ETJ in hopes that new zoning through the county will allow him to operate a business on his land in his retirement. Like his neighbors, McCallister's land is zoned in the city for residential.</p><p>"I feel like it would make my property more valuable if it was not in a residential zone," he said.</p><p>Zoning Administrator Susan Frady said the city and county use the same set of building codes and flood-zone maps. She told McCallister that he would still have to elevate his building.</p><p>"We contract with Henderson County to do our building inspections, so whether you are in the city or the county, you would use the same inspections department," she said. "None of that's going to change, except you'll go to the county to get your permits instead of to the city."</p><p>Over the past several years, she said, property owners were allowed to build hangars as long as they were reserved for private use only. Other hangars, however, were constructed before that stipulation was put into writing.</p><p>Stubbs said he has an airplane hangar and taxiway access to Johnson Field in his backyard.</p><p>"There's two airports in Hendersonville. A lot of people don't realize that, but there is a Johnson Field Airport and there's the main (Hendersonville) Airport," he said.</p><p>"The city has certain requirements that don't make it the easiest to build a building; for instance, height. The tail on an airplane is 15 feet. The city says an out-structure away from a home can't be but so high and it's got to be in the front yard or the backyard, but that's not all really what we're looking at," he said. "We're trying to say that the people ... that were there say before the ETJ was in place, they had a home. They had a hangar. They were able to use it. The rules were the same for a person on one end of the runway as it was for the other end of the runway.</p><p>"All we're looking for is to have the property put into the county, where all of the property that adjoins the main Hendersonville Airport, which is county property, all of the property out there around it would be in the county."</p><p>He said zoning violations can occur if someone rents an airplane hangar to someone else, transacting business in a residential zone.</p><p>"At the museum, are there any sales going for souvenirs and this type of thing?" Dutcher asked.</p><p>"Yes," Stubbs answered.</p><p>Is that a violation? Dutcher asked.</p><p>"If it's in the ETJ, it could be. The museum has been very well accepted by the community, the state and everybody in the area and we haven't had anything come up like that. We do occasionally do rides to benefit the museum and things like that. Well, in the county it's less restrictive," Stubbs said. "We all like Hendersonville, don't get me wrong, and we all like Henderson County."</p><p>The museum has been permitted with the city since the early '90s when property owners were granted a conditional-use permit.</p><p>"We not only want to see ... Johnson Field be successful, we want to see the Hendersonville Airport remain successful. We think it's vital to the community. In the summertime, you wouldn't believe the amount of traffic that comes into Hendersonville," Stubbs said.</p><p>The Hendersonville Airport is currently zoned as industrial in the county.</p><p>John Fadok, owner and operator of the neighboring Hendersonville Airport, said his concern really took flight when a plane flying out of Johnson Field crashed into one of his hangars last March.</p><p>The commercial operator has been "operating there for about the last two years in violation of the Hendersonville zoning," he said. "I've been looking the other way, but this is actually his third accident in the last two years."</p><p>Fadok said he "realized this is not a good operation or a safe operation. Zoning was there and this is their, I believe, their method in order to try and frustrate that, quite frankly. ... This ETJ removal was taken right after that accident happened and right after I notified the zoning people about it."</p><p>He suggested the board recommend removing Johnson Field and the museum from the ETJ "because then it would make it contiguous with the county zoning and it would be appropriate," he said. But he added that he didn't think it would be appropriate to extend the same courtesy to the residential properties in the area, allowing neighbors to continue with commercial operations.</p><p>Jon Blatt, vice chair of the planning board, reminded the group that it was not in their domain to make any kind of ruling or to assess any type of zoning violation in the matter.</p><p>"Because the current ETJ boundary bisects some properties, staff suggested having the new boundary follow existing roadways, and that's just to simplify that boundary description," Anderson said.</p><p>She said that more than five other properties were added to the request to clean up the boundary line and avoid bisecting parcels.</p><p>In order to change the current ETJ boundary, City Council must hold a public hearing and adopt an ordinance amending the ETJ boundary. "Once this is complete, Henderson County will need to apply zoning to the area that was formally within the ETJ boundary," Anderson said.</p><p>Stubbs said the county is currently considering adding an aviation classification to its zoning ordinance. The city currently has no such specific classification.</p><p>In other action, the board voted to recommend City Council deny a request from Peter Contrastano, Carol Dietrich and Ninth Avenue Ventures that asked for three parcels on Ninth Avenue West to be rezoned from medium-density residential to medical institutional cultural. The adjoining properties between North Justice Street and North Oak Street comprise three-quarters of an acre between Hendersonville Elementary and Hendersonville High schools.</p><p>No plan for a specific business was presented, although Contrastano said they were leaning toward developing the property as a live-work site with housing upstairs and a commercial property downstairs. A variety of commercial uses are permitted in medical institutional cultural zoning districts.</p><p>A neighbor told the board she was concerned about the future use of the land. Bill Farrell cast the sole "no" vote against the recommendation to deny the request.</p><p>___</p><p>Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.</p>